2013 Indian Grand Prix
|poletime = 1:24.119 |fastestlap = 1:27.679 |fastestlapdriver = Kimi Räikkönen |fastestlapnation = FIN |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 60 |winner = Sebastian Vettel |winnernation = GER |winnerteam = |second = Nico Rosberg |secondteam = |secondnation = GER |third = Romain Grosjean |thirdteam = |thirdnation = FRA }} The 2013 Indian Grand Prix (officially 2013 Airtel Indian Grand Prix) was the 17th race of the 2013 Formula One Season. This was the 3rd Indian Grand Prix being at the Buddh International Circuit as it took place between October 25 to October 27 2013. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel took pole position, ahead of Nico Rosberg. In the race, Vettel won by a clear margin despite suffering issues with his car in the latter stages of the race. Mark Webber would most likely have made it a one-two, but retired with an alternator failure. Rosberg took second place, ahead of an impressive Romain Grosjean, who had started seventeenth, and Felipe Massa, who despite reaching second place at the end of the first lap and leading could only finish in fourth place. Sergio Pérez performed admirably to secure a fifth place, his best result of the season. Fernando Alonso damaged his front wing at the start of the race after unavoidable contact with Webber, and was unable to fully recover as the Spaniard finished eleventh. As a result of his victory, combined with Alonso's non-score, Vettel took his fourth consecutive World Championship title at the race, performing donuts on the start/finish line and praying to his car. Red Bull-Renault took their fourth consecutive World Championship as well, after neither Ferrari or Mercedes were able to score enough points in comparison to the Austrian team. Background Before the race, it was announced that Daniil Kvyat was to replace Daniel Ricciardo for the second seat. The DRS zone was increased by 80 metres for the second year in a row. On the Thursday before the race, it was announced that the Indian Supreme Court was to hear a case that could potentially cancel the race on Friday. The petition to cancel was filed on the grounds that the organisers, Jaypee Sports International Limited, have not paid taxes at a previous event. The running of the event wouldn't have been affected until the result of the hearing was announced. However, the court delayed the hearing the hearing by a week, meaning the Grand Prix ran as planned. Title Permutations Drivers' Championship Sebastian Vettel enters the race with a 90-point lead over Fernando Alonso with four races left, and is likely to secure the title. The possible permutations are: * For Vettel to win the Championship, he needs a lead of 75 points at the end of race: ** Fifth place or better will guarantee the title. ** If Alonso wins, Vettel needs fifth or better. ** If Alonso finishes second, Vettel needs a top eight finish. ** If Alonso finishes third or worse, title is Vettels. * For the title race to continue on into Abu Dhabi: ** Alonso needs to win with Vettel sixth or lower or ** Alonso needs a second place with Vettel ninth or lower. Vettel will win the title if he can score at least ten points in the remaining four race, even if Alonso can win all four races. This is because Vettel has already won nine races; were Alonso to win all four his season total would be six, and hence, Vettel wins the tiebreaker. Constructors' Championship are also in a position in which they can win the Championship, as they hold a 148-point lead over and 158-point lead over . The maximum obtainable in three races is 129. The possible permutations are: * For Red Bull to win the title at the Indian GP: ** If Ferrari score less than 17 more than Red Bull and ** If Mercedes score less than 27 more than Red Bull. * For Ferrari to stay in the Championship race: ** They need to score at least 17 more points than Red Bull. * For Mercedes to stay in the Championship race: ** They need to score at least 27 more points than Red Bull. Entry list Practice Overview FP1 Sebastian Vettel scored the fastest time in FP1 as got a 1-2 in the opening practice with Mark Webber in second place. Fernando Alonso who was the only contender left in the title race struggled as he suffered a blow as an apparent gearbox failure force an early end to his session. James Calado was the only reserve driver to participate in the first session replacing Paul di Resta. FP2 FP3 Practice Results Qualifying Q1 Q2 Q3 Qualifying Results Race Results Milestones * Sebastian Vettel: Fourth World Drivers' Championship, joint third on the list with Alain Prost and he only has Juan Manuel Fangio (5) and Michael Schumacher (7) ahead of him. * Sebastian Vettel: Fourth consecutive World Drivers' Championship ( – ), as well as being to be the youngest person to achieve this feat, which had previously only been achieved by Fangio ( – ) and Schumacher (five in a row, – ). * : Fourth World Constructors' Championship. Still fifth on the list behind (16), (9), (8) and the original (7). * Red Bull-Renault: Fourth consecutive World Constructors' Championship, only the third team to have won four in a row, after McLaren ( – ) and Ferrari (six in a row, – ). * Sebastian Vettel: Sixth consecutive victory. * Felipe Massa: Scored his 800th point (post-race total: 806). * Fernando Alonso: First time to finish outside of the points since the 2010 British Grand Prix. Standings after race Notes Category:Grand Prix articles Category:2013 Grands Prix Category:Indian Grand Prix